rules of lightingrules of lightingthe use of tone

tones of graytones of gray

• The world can be broken into 9 tones of gray– represents the 256 million colors the human eye registers

• Decide up front what type of tone photo you are making– 2 tone: High Contrast– 3 tone: Medium Contrast– 5 tone: Dramatic Lighting– Or 9 tone: Natural Lights

types of lighttypes of light

• Hard light– High contrast– Pure black and pure white

• Soft Light– Low contrast– Overcast filter– Levels 2-8 (no 1 or 9)– The more lights you add

the more grays you will add to your photo

hard lighthard light

soft lightsoft light

types of lighttypes of light

• Natural light– Sunlight & Moonlight– Reflected sunlight &

moonlight– Overcast and Soft

• Artificial Light– Fluorescent – Flash– Incandescent– Hard and Enhances Contrast

natural lightnatural light

fluorescent fluorescent lightlight

incandescent incandescent lightlight

lighting lighting techniquestechniques

• Floodlighting & Spotlighting– Dramatic– High contrast

• Directional Lighting– Control of shadows– Creates strong sense of mood– Under & Over

• Multiple Light Sources– Enhances center of interest– Washes out background

floodlights & floodlights & spotlightsspotlights

floodlights floodlights & &

spotlightsspotlights

under lightingunder lighting

over over lightinglighting

over over lightinglighting

over over lightinglighting

multi-multi-lightinglighting

multi-multi-lightinglighting

lighting lighting techniquestechniques

• Backlighting– Light source is behind

the subject matter – Creates deep shadow

against a bright background

• Silhouettes – Developed in the 1700’s– Solid black shapes

backlightinbacklightingg

silhouettesilhouette

lighting ratioslighting ratios• 1:1 Flat Lighting – High Key

– Equal amounts of light for the highlight and shadows

• 2:1 General Color Photography – Middle Key– 2 times more light in the highlight areas over the

shadowed portions of the subject matter

• 3:1 General B&W Photography – Middle Key– 3 times more light in the highlight areas over the

shadowed portions of the subject matter

• 4:1 Dramatic Lighting – Low Key– 4 times more light– Common for traditional portraiture

• 8:1 Very Dramatic Lighting – Low Key– 8 times more light– Shadows become black abstract shapes

examples of lighting examples of lighting ratiosratios

keys: overall tonekeys: overall tone• High Key

– White/off-white background & brighter subject matter

– Low lighting ratio near 2:1– Eliminate shadows

• Middle Key– Use skin tone to set the mood– The “Goldilocks” photo

• Low Key– Dark background and dark subject matter– Higher lighting ratios 3:1 or 4:1– Shadows emphasized

examples of keysexamples of keys

• F-stop– how MUCH light is allowed by SIZE of aperture

• Shutter Speed – how LONG film is exposed to light coming through

the lens

• Work together– Both work together as in the bucket analogy:

• Large, dumping of water into a bucket quickly (f-stop)• Thin stream of water over a long time (shutter speed)

darker lighter

in photoshopin photoshop• Levels & Curves• Lighting Effects Filter• Darken Image using Mimicked F-stops:

– Duplicate your background layer and put the duplicate layer in Multiply mode

– This will create the effect of lowering your f stop by 1

• Lighten Image using Mimicked F-stops:– Duplicate your background layer and put the

duplicate layer in Screen mode– This will create the effect of raising your f

stop by 1

f-stops in photoshopf-stops in photoshop

Tones Lightning Techniques Keys & Ratios

F-Stops

Measure of Grays

Manipulation of Highlights & Shadows

Used During the

Shoot

Aperture setting on Camera

1 – White Artificial – Hard (Over/Under & Backlighting)

1:1 High Key F/8

2 – High Gray Artificial – Hard(Over/Under & Backlighting)

1:1 High Key F/5.6

3 – High Gray Artificial – Hard (Over/Under & Backlighting)

1:1 High Key F/5.6

4 – Mid Gray Natural – Soft (Overcast) 2:1 Mid Key F/5.6

5 – Mid Gray Natural – Soft (Overcast) 2:1 Mid Key F/4

6 – Mid Gray Natural – Soft (Overcast) 2:1 Mid Key F/4

7 – Low Gray Artificial – Hard (Over/Under & Backlighting)

3:1 Low Key F/2.8

8 – Low Gray Artificial – Hard (Over/Under & Backlighting)

4:1 Low Key Portraits

F/2

9 – Black Artificial – Hard (Over/Under & Backlighting)

8:1 Low KeyExtreme Contrast

F/1.4